On Fourth of July, common ground on food but not beer

Hosting an Independence Day cookout with both Democrats and Republicans? You’ll likely find bipartisan agreement over favorite foods and planned activities for the holiday weekend, but you might run into gridlock over beers of choice.

In a national online survey conducted in June by the Elon University Poll, in addition to questions about pending Supreme Court cases and presidential politics, respondents were asked to share their plans for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.

Both Republicans and Democrats were in agreement that cooking would be the holiday’s most common activity. Spending time with family was the second most common activity, followed by “just relaxing / staying at home.”

Americans of both major political stripes were united about food: barbeque was the most common item that respondents planned to consume (27%), followed by burgers (21%) and hot dogs (14%).

"Though Republicans and Democrats rarely agree, we see the power of barbecue to bring the country together at least once a year," said Assistant Professor Jason Husser, assistant director of the Elon University Poll.

Prone to rebel against social conventions, Independents were slightly less likely than Republicans or Democrats to say “hot dogs” while they were more likely to say “nothing special.”

The partisan divide was greater in terms of beer, which 50 percent of respondents plan to drink on the holiday. Corona ranked first for Democrats (13%). Bud Light is the number one beer for Republicans (17%). Budweiser and Bud Light tied for first among Independents (11%).

Though not statistically significant, Republicans were slightly more likely than Democrats to prefer Coors Light and Michelob Ultra while Democrats showed a small preference for Blue Moon.

The Elon University Poll conducted the online survey from June 4-9, 2015, using a non-probability opt-in panel of 1,125 adults living in the United States. Because respondents were not randomly selected, margins of error can be misleading and were not calculated.